The Northwest Indiana Regional Bus Authority for the first time has laid out concrete milestones for when it wants to start providing bus and other mass transit services.
The authority board approved a timeline at Wednesday's meeting that sets a goal of starting service by September 2008 on regional routes that could span suburban communities and cities.
"This is a major thrust, because in two years we will not be funded unless we come up with a long-term program," RBA project director Ken Dallmeyer said.
In June, the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority approved $6.5 million in funding for the RBA. It will be dished out over two years.
In addition to running some regional bus routes by next September, the RBA also wants to be operating a regional dispatch center and perhaps express commuter buses to Chicago.
There's a lot that has to be done before that can happen, RBA President Dennis Rittenmeyer said. First, the RBA has to become a designated recipient of Federal Transit Agency funds. That money will make up a good chunk of its outside funding.
That designation must be approved by the Indiana Department of Transportation and the governor.
There are also difficulties on the business end, as it would take about 18 months to get a bus after placing an order with a private vendor, Rittenmeyer said. The RBA is looking at other options such as leasing buses.
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